Fifteen Things To Know About ‘Pakistani Mystery Man’ Imran Awan

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by Luke Rosiak

 

The “Pakistani Mystery Man” is Imran Awan, who worked as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s email server administrator in the House of Representatives. Nearly his entire family then joined the payroll of other Democrats, until they worked for 1 in 5 House Democrats and had — as the House inspector general called it — the ‘keys to the kingdom‘ and ability to access any file.

1. Imran worked for Debbie Wasserman Schultz since 2004 and had the passwords to her devices

A search of his name on WikiLeaks shows the DNC summoned Imran when they needed her device unlocked.

2. During the 2016 election, the House’s Office of Inspector General warned that Imran and his family were making “unauthorized access” to data

A September 30, 2016, presentation said Imran Awan and his family members were logging into the servers of members who had previously fired him, funneling data off the network, and “suggests steps are being taken to conceal their activity.”

The Awan group’s (the Awan family) behavior mirrored a “classic method for insiders to exfiltrate data from an organization,” and they continued even after orders to stop, the briefing materials allege. The presentation especially found problems on one server, that of the House Democratic Caucus, an entity similar to the DNC that was chaired at the time by then-Rep. Xavier Becerra.

3. The Awan gr0up was left on the House computer network until February 2, 2017 — days after Donald Trump’s inauguration

Police then banned the Awan group from the network. The Committee on House Administration put out a statement saying, “House Officials became aware of suspicious activity and alleged theft committed by certain House IT support staff.” As of Feb. 2, 2017, no official House body has ever publicly provided any information about the case. But the IG report, TheDCNF obtained, shows theft was not the primary issue being warned about.

4. Shortly after the report came out on Sept. 30, 2017, the Caucus server — identified as prime evidence in the cybersecurity case — physically disappeared

Authorities took the disappearance as evidence tampering, they said. Becerra can’t discuss the incident because of an ongoing criminal investigation, he said.

5. Wasserman Schultz declined to fire Imran despite knowing he was suspected of cyber-security violations, even though she had lost her job as DNC chair for its anemic handling of its breach

Her office claimed Imran could work on “websites and printers” without accessing the network. Watchdog group FACT has filed an ethics complaint saying this was impossible, and a cybersecurity publication called the judgment negligent.

6. After Imran was banned from the network, he left a laptop with the username, RepDWS, in a phone booth along with a letter to prosecutors and a copy of his ID

Capitol Police found the laptop at midnight and seized it because they recognized Imran as a criminal suspect. Wasserman Schultz still didn’t fire Imran. Instead, she threatened Capitol Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa with “consequences” if he didn’t give it back, implying it was “a member’s laptop.” The police chief refused.

She hired a lawyer to block prosecutors from examining the laptop then later said, “This was not my laptop. I have never seen that laptop.” Imran’s lawyer then said he “very strongly” believes the laptop cannot be examined because of “attorney-client privilege.” Imran left a note with that phrase near the backpack.

7. The FBI began surveilling the family but let Imran’s wife leave the country 

She flew to Pakistan with cardboard boxes of possessions, FBI agents said in an affidavit. They approached her at the airport, but she refused to talk to them. They found $12,000 in cash but let her board anyway, writing they “not believe that Alvi has any intention to return to the United States.”

8. Prosecutors arrested Imran at the airport after he began liquidating assets

Imran and his wife had wired $300,000 to Pakistan after allegedly both cashing out a federal retirement account and taking a second mortgage under false pretenses. The FBI arrested Imran at the airport, and he was charged with bank fraud. Democrats have claimed the case is therefore about bank fraud, but prosecutors imply in court papers the bank fraud occurred because The Awans learned they were under investigation for other activities. “Based on the suspicious timing of that transaction, Awan and Alvi likely knew they were under investigation at that time,” prosecutors wrote of the money moves.

Imran’s lawyer is a former aide to Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Wasserman Schultz’s brother is a US Attorney for the District of Columbia prosecutor, who’s handling the case.

9. A former business partner of The Awan Family says Imran’s father handed over USBs of data to a Pakistani official and bragged of power to ‘change the US president’

The FBI never interviewed the associate. TheDCNF traveled to Pakistan and established from numerous sources that Imran travels that country with an entourage of Pakistani government agents, and he routinely boasts about mysterious political influence.

10. Nearly Imran’s entire family was on the House payroll at high salaries, despite most of them having no training in IT — Democrats failed to vet them

All 44 of their employers exempted them from background checks despite the House policy encouraging it.

Among the red flags in Imran’s brother’s, Abid, background were a $1.1 million bankruptcy; six lawsuits against him or a company he owned; at least three misdemeanor convictions including for DUI and driving on a suspended license, according to Virginia court records.

11. House Dems Hired A Fired McDonald’s Worker As E-mail Administrator

Rao Abbas was added to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and Ted Deutch’s payroll shortly after court paperwork showed Abid owed him money.

12. Money from an Iraqi political figure

Imran and Abid operated a car dealership referred to as CIA that took $100,000 from an Iraqi government official who is a fugitive from U.S. authorities, according to a business partner’s testimony in a civil lawsuit. After Imran was banned, another email address that belonged to him, [email protected], appeared to still be active and invoked the name of a “national security and foreign affairs” specialist for Rep. Andre Carson, an intelligence committee member.

13. The cybersecurity investigation started after allegedly falsified invoices caught administrators’ attention, and The Awans’ lawyers blamed members. No one has been charged for “unauthorized access” or falsified invoices, and Imran’s court date has been postponed five times. It is now scheduled for May 4 2018.

14. The Awans’ relatives, colleagues and tenants say they would ‘do anything for money’

Their own stepmother alleges they wiretapped, extorted her and held her captive.

15. Wasserman Schultz said police might be Islamophobic, but Imran’s own wife, Hina Alvi, filed a lawsuit in Pakistan in July 2017 alleging he controlled Hina with violent threats

Imran was the subject of repeated calls to police by multiple Muslim women.

 – – –

Luke Rosiak is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Luke on Twitter. Send tips to [email protected].

 

For even more coverage on the mysterious Awans, see these DCNF stories…

Imran Awan: A Continuing DCNF Investigative Group Series

 

 

Appeared at and reprinted from the DailyCallerNewsFoundation.org

 

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